1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to rotary cutting tools and, more particularly, to cutting tips for rotary cutting tools.
2. Background Information
Rotary cutting tools, such as the fluted drill 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, are known. Such drills are commonly formed including a cutting tip 12 located at or near a first end 14, a mounting portion 16 located at or near a second end 18, and a body portion 20 disposed about a central longitudinal axis 22 which extends generally between the first end 14 and the second end 18. Body portion 20 is of generally cylindrical shape and includes a number of helical flutes 24 disposed therein.
Cutting tip 12 is structured to perform cutting operations on a workpiece (not shown), which, in the case of fluted drills, include hole-cutting operations. To aid in the performance of such cutting operations, it is known to provide the cutting tip 12 with a straight tapered profile 26 (FIG. 2) generally disposed at an angle σ relative to the central longitudinal axis 22.
Although such cutting tips having straight tapered profiles have been generally suitable in many applications, there still exists room for improvement. For example, when performing hole-cutting operations on many materials, maintaining a clean surface finish is often critical. Engineered materials, such as carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) particularly present such a challenge. Known drill designs are typically either incapable of producing such desired surface finishes or else are incapable of doing so for a satisfactory service life.
There is, therefore, a need for improved cutting tip profiles for cutting engineered materials.